Life-boat



(No Model.)

JESSUP.

LIFE BOAT.

Patented Oct. 25, 1881.

ATTORNEYS.

WITNESSES VQWaW W? 0/ STATES UNITE PATENT @EETEE.

LIFE-BOAT.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 248,755, dated October 25, 1881.

Application filed February], 1881. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern Be it known that I, NATHAN O. JEssUP, of Southampton, in the county of Suffolk and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Surf or Life Boats, of which the following is a specification.

In the drawings annexed, Figure 1 presents SQEtS.

To this end I construct the hull of aboutthe usual form, but with an inner and outer shell, the inner one, a, being constructed of light, strong wood or similar material, built up in about the usual manner, while the outer one, I), is made of thin tenacious sheet metal, preferably steel or copper or tough iron. This metal shell may be formed in plates riveted or otherwise secured together, and fixed close on to the wooden hull or inner shell,the metal being galvanized, and all joints and nail or rivet heads being soldered over, so as to make the metal shell absolutely watertight. By galvanizing the metal plates they can be more easily soldered atthe joints, and are better protectcd from oxidation. This shell, however, as may be observed from the drawings, does not fully inclose the inner hull, but rises thereon only to a level with the deck, or thereabout, which is a little above the water-line. It may now be seen that these two shells mutually complement and re-enforce each other, and give to the boat a combination of important qualities.- Thus theinner wooden hull, while being quite light, has great stiffness compared with its weight, and it hence stift'ens and supports the thin outer metal shell, which would otherwise be readilycollapsible; while, on the other hand, the inner wooden shell, which would be liable to spring a leak from opening of joints, or be easily punctured by sharp contacts, is thoroughly protected from this by the-outer shell of thin metal, which makes the boat absolutely water-tight and impenetrableto punctures or the shock of waves under all ordinary conditions; and it may be readily understood that these several qualities are more perfectly obtained with less weight by this combination of the two shells than could be obtained with a boat made of either material alone.

It may be understood that the effect of having the metal shell terminate at the deck-line is that this disposes the centerof gravity well down in the boat, so that it is thus more certain to right when capsized, and also that it increases the capacity and buoyancy of the boat. To further increase the buoyancy and tendency to right I curve the bow and stern ends of the boat a little higher than usual,'so

. that the inolosed space below the deck, which constitutes an air-chamber, rises higher in each end of the boat than usual, thus bringing the points of greatest buoyancy higher up at the extreme ends, so that when the boat is turned over these ends will possess greater leverage to right-the boat than would be otherwise the case.

As before mentioned, the entire inner hull may be made of wood, the keel and ribs being, say, of oak, while the planking is preferably of cedar; and I would note that by means of the outer metal shell this wood-work may be made much lighter than is usual, yet the boat will be far stronger, stiffer, lighter, and more impenetrable than ordinary metal or wooden boats. Furthermore, the inner hull may be made of paper, in some cases, if found desirable. I generally prefer, however, to make the keel and stem and stern of oak, the ribs ofsteel, of T form in cross-section, as shown in Fig.3, and the side planking of cedar, as represented in the drawings. The combination of the steel T-ribs with the wooden keel and planking is, however, particularly good, as the T-ribs give the boat much greater lateral stiffness than would be possible with wooden ribs. The entire frame, including the keel, may, however, be made of steel, of T-section, and I prefer to fix along the keel, on the inside of the boat, a

form of hog-beam, 0, in about the common manner, to give the boat longitudinal stiffness against hogging.

The deck at d crosses the hull about midway, as shown, or a little lower than half the depth thereof, and curves longitudinally about parallel with the gunwale of the hull, as shown. A peculiar feature of this deck, however, is that it is concave in cross-section, so that any water that the boat may ship will always tend to accumulate at the center, and thus keep her on an even keel. Furthermore, the deck is so curved lengthwise that the lowest point is near the stern, so that the water shipped tends toward the stern and elevates the bow. Now, on this lower part of the deck are formed depres sions or pockets ff on each side, as shown in Figs. 2 and 4, which depressions are abrupt on the line g, which line presents an upright face or abutment in transverse view, as seen in Fig. 4, while these pockets incline gradually from the lines h h outward and backward toward the sides of the boat and toward the abutments gg. In the sides of the boat opposite these depressions ports are formed, which are provided each with a hinged door or valve, 2', which open outward, and are hinged on spring-hinges or their equivalents, with a constant tendency to open. A line, however, extends from these "alves and rises through an opening in the seat, so that by pulling on said line and twistingit around a cleat the person sitting on the seat may thus close the ports, and on the other hand, byrelaxing the line, the ports will at once open, as will be readily understood. It will now be seen that any water which the boat may ship in going through a heavy sea will run down the center of the concave deck into the poeketsff, and be there deflected toward the sides by the upright faces g g of the pockets, and as soon as the valves it are opened by the occupant on the seat this water will at once escape overboard, thus immediately relieving the boat of the water, while the valves may be again immediately closed to prevent the entrance of any water through the ports.

It may be noted from the drawings that the deck is also formed in two shells, similar to the hull, the lower shell, m, being of light cedar or other wood, supported on cross-beams and center stanchions, as usual, while the upper shell, (I, which is closely laid onto the former, is made of the same material as the outer shell of the hull, preferably sheet-steel, galvanized, and soldered over all joints and rivet-heads, thus giving the deck the same qualities as the hull, as already described-viz., strength, light ness, and impenetrability.

The metal sheeting of the deck is curved well up around its edge, where it meets with the sides of the boat, as shown best in Fig. 5, so as to insure water-tightness at this part.

It may now be readily appreciated that the several features described combine to form a greatly-improved surf orlife boat whose superior lightness enables it to be readily handled and launched through the surf, and gives it buoyancy when afloat, while the compound nature of its hull gives it great power of resisting waves, leaks, and punctures, and thus enabling it to retain its buoyancy. These qualities are hence not only of intrinsic value, but possess an extrinsic value also, as they inspire greater confidence in the crew, which gives them greater audacity and courage in the dangerous work of reaching wrecks and saving life.

It may be noted, on reference to Fig.1, that the sheets or plates forming the external metal shell are arranged vertically or parallel with the ribs and at right angles to the wooden planking of the inner shell, which insures greater strength. I

I am aware that it is not new to sheath wooden vessels with metal plates which have been applied in sheets, each sheet being nailed separately to the vessel, that life-boats have been proyided with valves to allow the escape of water, and that it is not new to construct vessels with angular iron ribs, and therefore I do not broadly claim either of these con structions. In my invention I make an outer shell of thin steel plates or sheets, which are all riveted together and soldered at the joints, thereby making a complete shell or vessel of sheet-steel practically in one piece, which fits closely to a complete non-metallic shell which forms the vessel proper. The deck of my boat is formed in substantially the same manner as the hull, and its steel layer is provided with an upturned edge, by which itis securely fastened to the sides of the hull. Turning up the edge of the steel layer is far preferable to fastening a separate anglcplate to its edge, as the fastenings used to connect said angleplates would weaken the layer, and also leave places at the joint which would be liable to leak.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A surf or life boat constructed with an inner shell of light non-metallic material and an outer shell of thin sheet metal, said metal shell being composed of galvanized sheets of thin steel fastened and soldered at its joints, as described, and completely inclosing the lower part of the inner shell, and terminating at or near the deckline thereof, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. In a surf or life boat provided with bailing pockets and ports, as described, and in combination therewith, the hinged valves 1' i, one at each side of the boat, and opened outwardly by springs, and a rope or band, r,connected to both valves, and adapted to forcibly draw either or both of said valves to the port or ports of the boat to close the sa1ne,substantially as specified.

3. In a life-boat, the deck d, made concave in cross-section and curved lengthwise to bring and backwardly to the sides of the boat andthe lowest point near the stern, whereby the toward abutments g, as described. shipped water may run to the stern and thereby raise the bow, as described. NATHAN S 5 4. In a life-boat, the valved pockets f, ar- Witnesses:

ranged at the lower part of the deck, and in- OHAs. M. HIGGINS, clined gradually from the lines It outwardly O. SEDGWIOK. 

